DELIVERING PARRIS ATTRACTING ATTENTION IN SINGLE-A.Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer It didn't matter that he was getting the best of a former high school teammate. After wasting most of one season on the Detroit Tigers' minor- league suspended list, Matt Parris is happy to be pitching again in any capacity. The former Paraclete and Highland High standout is enjoying a breakout season at Single-A West Michigan of the Midwest League The Midwest League is a Class A minor league baseball league which operates in the Midwestern United States. History Six teams – the Belleville Stags, the Centralia Cubs, the Marion Indians, the Mattoon Indians, the Mount Vernon Braves, and the West Frankfort . The hard-throwing right-hander has been an effective starter and long reliever Long relievers are a type of relief pitcher in baseball. Long relievers traditionally enter early in a game (anywhere from the first inning to the fourth inning) when the starting pitcher cannot continue, whether due to ineffective pitching, lack of endurance, rain delays, injury, for the Whitecaps. In a recent start at Peoria, Parris was a grinder Grinder A slang term for a person who works in the investment industry and makes small amounts of money at a time on small investments, over and over again. Notes: , quelling several Chiefs' rallies en route to six shutout innings and a 2-0 victory. Among those who failed to solve Parris was Peoria first baseman John Santor, who played with him at Highland and is now a promising prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals For the National Football League team that played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see . The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. organization. Parris hasn't quite made his way onto the Tigers' radar. But should he continue to battle the way he has at West Michigan, the 20-year-old will get more recognition. He labored through his start at Peoria, throwing just 57 strikes among 104 total pitches. But on three different occasions he stranded Chiefs' runners in scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on to preserve the shutout. ``You always want to keep them down, because hitting's contagious,'' Parris told the Peoria Journal-Star. ``The first person sees they can do it, and then everybody's hacking away at you. ``I threw a lot of balls, but I got lucky and got guys to make outs. It's always nice when you're not throwing strikes and guys get themselves out. I just tried to keep hanging in there and battling.'' Prior to 2002, he'd thrown just 33 2/3 innings and sitting out all of 2001 for his suspension. But he showed promise in the short-season New York-Penn League (5-4, 3.34 ERA at Oneonta) last summer. Parris has made 28 appearances, 16 in relief and 12 as a starter. Opposing batters are hitting just .226 against him from the bullpen, and in his most recent outings he allowed just one earned run earned run n. Baseball A run scored without the aid of an error, used in computing earned run averages. Noun 1. earned run - a run that was not scored as the result of an error by the other team over 13 2/3 innings. Overall, he's just 4-6 but with a solid 3.12 ERA and most notably 101 innings. --Santor Claus is comin' to town: Unlike Parris, a sixth-round pick of the 2000 draft, Santor was a less regarded prospect coming out of Highland. But after a slow start his first two years, he's come on strong since leading the New York-Penn League in RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in (62), extra-base hits (38) and doubles (24) last year at New Jersey. Santor made the Midwest League All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games this season at Peoria and continues to swing a solid bat after a torrid start. Santor hit .386 in April and was at a .336 clip on June 7. He was at .281 through Tuesday but producing solid power statistics (eight homers, 61 RBI, 26 doubles). ``He's really developed in every year that he's played. He progressed,'' said JetHawk Jason Gorman, who played against Santor when he starred at Palmdale High and also was his former Pony League The Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League, also known as the PONY League, was a Class D minor league baseball circuit that played from 1939 through 1956. The forerunner of the modern Class A New York - Penn League, the PONY served as the first professional baseball address of teammate. ``And now in pro ball, he's flourishing. He's always been a good hitter. ``He's a bigger kid (6-1, 210), and he's filling out in his body and he's finding out that it's going to work for him. You've got to use it.'' --Riding the Waves: Of the Dodgers' four Rule V selections from 2002, Chris Testa (Palmdale) is by far bringing back the best return. The Single-A South Georgia outfielder/first baseman was named South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, or "Sally League," is a minor league baseball league which operates mostly in the southeastern United States, although it now has teams in New Jersey and Ohio. hitter of the week after hitting three homers with 15 RBI during a 13-for-28 stretch. For the season, Testa is batting .288 with nine homers and 58 RBI. Chris Cocoles, (818) 713-3607 chris.cocoles(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Former Highland and Paraclete pitcher Matt Parris, seen here in 2002, is coming around. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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